I would take a quieter ride and sometimes-louder engine noise over a loud-all-the-time noise any day. People actually drive these things to and from work, you know. I really can't stand fake engine noises coming through the speakers, but having engine noise piped into the cabin (from the engine itself, yes) when I…

The only other Mini that makes sense right now is the Mini Coupe, which gets rid of the already useless rear seats and trades it for greatly increased trunk space, but no one seems to be buying it (except my wife, who's saving up for one).

Wait, you're telling me that my Ford Focus is a shorter can than a Mini Paceman???

I agree, the Focus and Fiesta ST are excellent cars. They may be FWD, but I can still get my Focus ST to oversteer, and without crashing! The BRZ may be better to hoon, but the STs are much better to actually own, insure, and not get pulled-over by cops.

The Focus ST's engine has an insanely low amount of turbo lag (due to its 5 inches of piping between the engine block and the turbo). Even in 6th gear, highway overtakes are a cinch with 3 passengers and a week's worth of luggage. Because I know I would be going on many road trips, I opted to get the Focus ST instead…